4,500 elderly people in need of housing; charity calls on Govt to release homes

A charity that represents the elderly is calling on the Government to release derelict houses for their use.

ALONE is today launching its national housing campaign in a bid to gain access to homes for the more than 4,500 older people in need.

The group will target candidates running in the local elections in a bid to highlight the issue.

CEO of ALONE Sean Moynihan said: "There are 4,500 elderly people looking for housing. For every house we have available, we have 25 applications. So for every house we have, we turn away 24 people who remain looking for housing.

"For older people it's very hard to get housing because they may have support needs, or they may be single."

He said people were looking for a place to age in safety and security with support from organisations such as ALONE.

"(Having a house within the community and supported by an organisation such as ALONE) would mean they would not be at the behest of landlords or high rents or anti-social behaviour," he said.